man: "you're free to go, to hoboken." yeah. narrator: there would still be questions of what food to buy for the railroad trip to chicago or the boat trip to boston. there was still the strange names, the strange numbers, and the fear of losing one's money. there was the process of buying a ticket, to places with unpronounceable names like "pittsburgh," "hamtramck," and "keokuk." but those were details. the island had passed them through. the door to america had opened. man: it was as if god's great promise had been fulfilled. man: i'm going into a free land. i don't think i ever can explain that feeling that i had that time. there isn't such a thing to be explained. ♪ it came out of my system. it's over. man: it's not my native land, but it means more to me than my native land. it means more to me than my native land. man: any country on earth -- this would never happen -- and become a human being again. it's a miracle. woman: i'm glad i'm here. couldn't be any better, could it? man: and everybody had hopes and one thing i w